book26 serial

8/12/2019 Book26 Serial

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2005 LearningPage.com, inc. www.learningpage.com

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Tommy Tales are downloadable and printablebooks only available on the Internetfrom the following Web sites:

www.learningpage.comwww.readinga-z.com

Tommy Tales feature the lovable rascalTommy Tomkins and his friends.

Supporting material is available on theLearning Page Web site, including

teaching notes, worksheets, and fact files.

Look for the next Tommy Tales adventurecoming soon from Learning Page.

BOOK 26

Tommy Tales

TommyGoestoLondon


2/8

It was a sunny Saturday morning. Tommy

and Sam went to the park to meet their

friends. Lucy, Andy, and Kim were waitingfor them on the big blue bench.

What do you have there, Sam? asked Andy.

Its a postcard from my cousin in London.

Theres a photo of a castle on the front.Its called the Tower of London.

Wow, it looks really old, said Kim.

It is old, said Lucy. It was built almosta thousand years ago.

Lucy knows her English history, said

Tommy.

Not really, replied Lucy. Its written righthere on the back. Tower of London, built

in 1070 by William the Conqueror. Your

cousin also wrote that they saw the Queens

crown and jewels.

Wouldnt it be cool to go to London?

asked Andy, with a smile.

2 3


3/8

The other kids knew why Andy was smiling.

Tommy had a robot who could transport

the friends anywhere they wanted to go.

Tommy took RK-5, the little robot, from

his pocket.

Everyone would like to go to London.

Can you take us there? asked Tommy.Of course I can take you to the capital city

of England. I can take you anywhere. I can

even take you to the past or into the

future, said RK-5. Wed like to visit present-day London,

interrupted Kim. We always get intotrouble when we go to the past.

We could go see the Queen, said Sam.

The Queen wont see us, said Kim. Shes

much too important.

RK-5 told Tommy which buttons to press

on the little robots number pad. After

Tommy pressed the numbers, there was

a flash of light and a cloud of blue smoke.

When the smoke cleared, there were no

children on the big blue bench.

4 5


4/8

Tommy opened his eyes. He saw that he and

his friends were sitting on a wall. A big river

flowed below them. The river was so widethat large boats were floating by.

Look at the bridge, said Sam. Its huge.

RK-5 told them that it was Tower Bridge.

Cars and buses cross the bridge, as wellas walkers, he said.

Look! said Andy. The road across the

bridge is moving. Its opening up to let that

big boat go through.

The children waved at the people on the

boat. When the road went back down, they

walked across the bridge to visit the Tower

of London.RK-5 told the children that the Tower was

first built as a place for kings to live. He said

that over the years, other kings added piecesto the Tower. Huge, thick walls were added

to keep out enemies.

A king called Richard I had a huge ditch dug

around the tower walls. Its called a moat.

Then it was filled with water from the river

we just sawthe River Thames, said RK-5.

6 7


5/8

Nobody could get into the Tower grounds

unless they had permission, continued

RK-5. To let people inside, a woodenbridge on chains was lowered over the

moat. The people could then walk across

the bridge, which was called a drawbridge.

Wheres the moat now? asked Andy.

The water was smelly and people kept

falling in, said RK-5. "So they drained the

water hundreds of years ago.

The moat is just grass now, said Lucy.

The children walked across the stone bridge

and went into the Tower grounds. A soldier

wearing a funny-looking uniform smiled atthe children.

Whos he? asked Sam.

Hes a beefeater, answered RK-5. The

beefeaters protect the tower."Look at all the big, black birds, said Kim.

They are ravens, said a voice from behind

them. It was the beefeater. Theres an old

legend. It says if the

ravens ever leave

the Tower, both the

Tower and England

will crumble and

fall, added thebeefeater. So the

ravens are very

important. We treat

them well. But dont

pet them. Theyllpeck your fingers.

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6/8

Can we see the Queens crown and jewels?

Tommy asked the beefeater.

Yes. Go to the Jewel House, over there.But youll have to hurryits closing in

10 minutes, advised the beefeater.

A bell rang, and a beefeater told them it

was time to close. They all walked out of

the Jewel House. Tommy looked for Taffy.Oops, Taffys been left behind, he thought.

He gave RK-5 to Andy and ran back to the

Jewel House.

The beefeater didnt see Tommy run pastand locked the gates. Tommy was locked

inside the Jewel House! He looked around

for Taffy but couldnt find him. He called,

Taffy! Where are you?

The lights went out. Tommy realized that

he was all alone.

10 11

They hurried to the Jewel House. They

were amazed when they saw the crowns

and all the jewels. The diamonds, rubies,

and pearls sparkled in the light. A sign said

that the jewels were worth more money

than could be counted.


7/8

Robbers! thought Tommy.

Tommy watched as the robbers broke open

the glass display. They began filling their

backpacks with jewels.

The robbers moved quickly and silently.Soon their bags were full, and they climbed

back through the hole in the ceiling.

Tommy couldnt let them escape. He

followed the robbers up the rope. He saw

the robbers on the roof making their way

toward a ladder.

12 13

Tommy sat down in the corner, and soon

he was fast asleep.

A noise above Tommys head awoke him.

He didnt know how long hed been

sleeping. But he was now wide awake.

A shaft of light appeared from a hole in the

ceiling. Then a rope dropped down fromthe hole. A pair of legs began sliding down

the rope.

Tommy watched as two men silently slid

down the rope. They had flashlights and

large backpacks.


8/8

Tommy untied the rope. He tied one end

into a lasso and tied the other tight to a

flagpole. When Tommy reached the top ofthe ladder, the robbers were climbing down.

When they were about halfway down,

Tommy threw the lasso around the two

men, pulled the

rope tight, andknocked over

the ladder.

Tommy left the

robbers dangling

on the rope.

They shouted

but they couldnt

escape.

The shoutingbrought the

beefeaters.

Everyone soon

knew that Tommy

had caught thejewel thieves.

14 15

Within an hour, Tommy and his friends

were in a different royal house. They were

in Buckingham Palace, the home of theQueen.

The Queen wanted to thank Tommy for

saving the crown jewels. She was so pleased

that she gave him a medal for his bravery.

After they left the Queen, Sam said, Where

shall we go now?

Ive had enough excitement for one day,

said Tommy. I want to go home. Please

take us back to the park, RK-5.

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